After some delays due to a few unavailable species, my berry babies are all here! They’re in nice shape and will be nestled into the ground first thing in the morning. I’m especially anxious over the Mexican Elderberries, they’re native to Catron county but I’m afraid the Canyon might be a bit cold for them. So I’m going to find a sunny spot and pamper them for a while. I ordered from a great native plants nursery in central Cali called Las Pilitas, and if you need Southwestern native plants, I highly recommend them. They have an exceptional selection and have been in the business for a long time.

Speaking of babies, jim mcdonald and his wife have a new one! A beautiful (and humongous) little boy named Rowan, and here’s some pictures. I suggest sending offerings of high quality chocolate, organic tobacco and bundles of choice hand gathered herbs. 😀

I was only able to get two of the Mexican Elders for this year, and will get multiple species in the spring to see which grow best.

Do you know where the Faery Circle is, the little path off to the right before you cross the arroyo to go to the Gifting Lodge? Basically they’re up out of the wash, set back just a little bit, with lots of pine mulch and some big rocks nearby… I hope they like it! They have different needs than my S. neomexicana that grow in the Ponderosa Pines and Alligator Juniper so I hope I’ve got them figured out alright.

The blackberries will be an excellent foraging food for the wildlife and us… and where they’re planted, across the river, on narrow, damp strips of land should keep them from getting out of control, even if they completely covered that area, it’d be ok cuz they can’t go anywhere else (well, the birds could spread them by seed eventually).

The Serviceberries will have the hardest time I expect, but I put them in a nice cool and damp place, so we’ll see.